She'll Carry On
by Squirrly Donut
Summary: Tenth walker with a twist! Ayelita joins the fellowship AFTER the 'breaking.' She's determined to carry on living how she wants to, but how will Ayelita deal with the problems and opprotuntuies her not so common life throws at her? ship: LegolasOFC
1. Up, Out, and Away

Chapter 1: Up, Out, and Away

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Ayelita strode down a path between the wooden houses, glad to have a bit of free time before the head housekeeper found more work for her to do. She worked as a serving maid for the Golden Hall and all buildings which were specifically the king's. The tedious housework assigned to Ayelita was near constant, and on this rare amount of free time during her long shift she planned to just sit around and relax for a while.

As Ayelita neared the gate of Edoras, she saw it swing open to reveal four strangers being lead by a gate guard. The strangers immediately raised her curiosity, for they did not receive many visitors these days. The first was an old man dressed in a grey cloak and carrying a tall staff. The second man was tall and had an air of royalty and greatness about him, despite the disheveled state of his clothes. Her insides gave a leap when she realized that the third one, tall and exceedingly fair with long blond hair, must be an elf. The fourth stranger was short and stocky, with much hair and carrying a heavy axe. Ayelita wasn't exactly sure what he was.

Quietly she followed them, keeping out of sight behind the houses. Ayelita wanted to know a bit more about them before trying to come face to face. She followed the company directly to the Golden Hall, where the doorwarden, Hama, commanded them to set aside their weapons. The suspected elf laid down his silver-hafted knife, quiver, and bow, saying only, "Keep these well, for they come from the Golden Wood and the Lady of Lothlorien gave them to me."

However, the kingly man hesitated, unwilling to let anyone else handle Anduril (for that was apparently his sword's name). Despite the coaxing of Hama and the old man, he did not wish to part with his sword. When it was told to him that he would lay down the sword or fight against all the men in Edoras, the short one looked ready to fight. Idiots, Ayelita thought. Couldn't they just bend to the request? Not much was being asked of them. Fortunately, the old man understood to simply comply with the request, and by doing so convinced Master High-and-Mighty and the short guy to do the same.

When Ayelita hard that they had come to speak to the Théoden King, she knew she needed to hear whatever they would be discussing. The only problem was that no way in hell would the doorwardens let her stroll in to the Hall to join in whatever would be happening. With this, Ayelita snuck up to one of the tall windows, crouched down so that only her eyes and nose passed above the windowsill, and continued to watch the events playing out before her. Honestly, all these powerful people really didn't know how to keep others out of their business.

As Ayelita watched, she learned several interesting pieces of information. The old man was called Gandalf, and he evidently thought very little of Wormtongue. This made her immediately take somewhat of a liking to him, because she knew Wormtongue to be a sneaking, manipulating bastard. The conversation then turned to the Lady of Lothlorien. Ayelita had only heard rumor of her, and therefore did not know whether she was a sorceress who wove webs of deceit as some claimed or whether she was the fair lady that Gandalf said she was. Gandalf then raised his staff, thunder roll and the windows go dark. Ayelita tried to look in, but it was as if a black curtain of air had covered all of the windows. After several moments, the blackness vanished from one of the windows, but it was not her window.

Ayelita began to grow frustrated when suddenly she heard Gandalf cry, "Open! The Lord of the Mark comes forth!" The doors rolled open. Ayelita rushed, or as much as she could rush, considering that she crawled along the ground trying to not be seen or heard, back to the front of the hall, seeing as that was where all the action was now taking place. As she reached the scene, the four companions and Théoden stood on the porch, looking out over the land and saying how it was not so dark. Well of course, it is day after all, she thought.

Ayelita's eyes nearly fell out of her head at what Théoden did next. He cast aside his staff and drew himself up, seeming to shed a dozen years in that one moment. She wondered if it was entirely Gandalf's doing. Despite not having before seen any wizards or sorcerers, Ayelita knew that he must be one, and a powerful one at that.

Gandalf and the king now whispered together, so that none could hear what they were saying. After more talking, Théoden had his sword brought to him by Eomer, and chanted a call to arms:

_Arise now, arise, Riders of Théoden!_

_Dire deeds awake, dark is it eastward._

_Let horse be bridled, horn be sounded!_

_Forth Eorlingas!_

Ayelita's heart pounded at this; she had never heard such a call to arms from the old king, but knew that every word of it was meant. This was her chance! Years ago she had grown tired of her life in Edoras as a maidservant. She could now finally leave to fight in whatever upcoming battle! Thought none knew, Ayelita was better with weapons than many of the men.

She was too busy thinking of this new development to hear the next words spoken and heard only, "… all my folk get ready!" and an invitation for the companions to stay at a guest house for the night. Ayelita was glad to hear this, for she was curious and wanted to meet these new strangers. This would also give her time to get ready for the battle.

The tall, kingly man then said, "Nay, lord. There is not rest yet for the weary. The men of Rohan must ride forth today, and we will ride with them, axe, sword, and bow. We did not bring them to rest against your wall Lord of the Mark. And I promised Eomer that my sword and his should be drawn together." Damn it, she thought, today?! Now she barely had time to grab her stuff or to meet these people.

"Now my guests, come!" Théoden said. "Come and take such refreshment as hast allows." Seeing her opportunity to meet them, Ayelita scrambled up hastily and ran into the hall after them. She stood behind a column, knowing that in a moment servants would come with the food.

Just behind her, a manservant showed up bearing a roasted chicken with dried apples on a platter. "Oh, why don't I take that for you," Ayelita said, beaming, as she took the platter from him. Leaving the surprised manservant behind her, she came up to the table.

Legolas would probably not have noticed the young woman had she not stuck out like a gull among sparrows. Since the Rohirrim were tall, fair, and blond having blue or grey eyes, she was most unlike them. Yes, she was fairly tall, but the wavy hair that she had pulled back in a French plait A/N: I know they didn't have the term 'French', but bear with me was a rich brunette. Her dark eyes were brown, too. Even her skin was a shade darker than that of the Rohirrims'; as if she had already spent time in the summer sun on this chilly, early spring day. But what struck Legolas even about her even more than her appearance was that she did not have the meek bearing of a maidservant, yet though by all means she seemed to be one. As he stared in wonder at her, she did not look down as most maids would but stared right back.

Upon arrival at the table, Ayelita set down the platter and, rather than going away, plopped down next to the kingly man, across from the elf. All gapped at her. "Hello," she enounced boldly. "I couldn't help but notice you all and was wondering who you all were."

The one next to her recovered from the surprise first. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Ayelita nodded, not giving a damn about who his daddy was.

"I am Legolas, of the Elvin realm of Mirkwood," the elf introduced himself. She was fascinated, for he was the first full elf she'd ever met.

"I'm Gimli, Gloin's son," the short one replied.

"Uh, don't mean to sound rude, but what are you?" Ayelita asked of him.

"I am a dwarf, of course."

"Ah," she'd thought so, but hadn't been sure. "I'm Ayelita Karaban. Now, what of this battle everyone's going to? Where is it? Against who?"

More staring ensued. "The battle is away East, against the wizard Saruman and his forces," Aragorn cared to explain. "But you need not worry of that, for all of the women and children are to escape to Dunharrow." Ayelita thought on this. Evidently he was under the impression that she would be going with the women and children. No thank you, hiding in wait for the men to come back from battle was not her thing.

"Well, I will hopefully see you all upon departure," Ayelita said as she stood up to get ready. Without further explanation, she hurried off to her lodgings.

As a servant of Meduseld, Ayelita had rooms, which were just a medium sized bedroom, provided for her in the servants' quarters. Not many resided there because most had their own homes within the courts. Running into her rooms, Ayelita ripped off her dress and hurried into a pair of dark pants, a well-fitted forest green tunic, and knee-high light brown leather boots. Crawling underneath her bed, Ayelita retrieved her prized possessions, a pair of fighting knives she had inherited from her mother. They were actually more sword-like, the blades being just over two feet long and very slightly curved. With their basic oak handles, unadorned steel blades, and plain leather sheaths, Ayelita's knives were no work of art, but they were well made and served their grim and violent purpose exceedingly well.

Once Ayelita had strapped on her weapons on either side of her belt and fastened a cloak around her shoulders, she set about quickly packing what would be most needed for the battle and short journey in a saddle bag. She packed a couple of spare pairs of underclothes, a comb, tooth cleaning powder (nothing could make Ayelita give up basic hygiene), some food, and a small number of other useful odds and ends.

Done packing, Ayelita grabbed her bag and rushed out to the stables. She would need a horse. "Edred!" Ayelita called to one of the stable boys. She spoke in the Rohirrim's language. "Can you please find me a spare horse?"

"Wh-what? Lita, where on middle earth are you going?" Edred asked in the same tongue. He was eight years Ayelita's junior, but she treated him well and they shared something close to a friendship.

"To the upcoming battle, of course. Now, about that horse…"

Edred snapped to it, though shaking his head in disbelief the entire time. He found her a young, vibrant reddish-brown gelding. "Here, he's fast, but a bit too small to bear a fully armored man, so he shouldn't be missed. His name's Scythe." Edred proceeded to put a saddle and bridle on Scythe.

"Thanks!" Ayelita called over her shoulder as she rode out of the stables to join the muster. There were more than a thousand men assembled, all carrying spears. She did not have one. Oh well, hopefully not all of the fighting would be the type to require spears.

King Théoden then arrived with Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and Gandalf. Ayelita guided her horse over to them. "Hello! I'd said that I would see you as we left."

All gazed at her. "Surely you do not intend to ride with us?" inquired Aragorn.

"Yes, I do."

"But the battlefield is not place for a maiden such as you!" Ayelita gave Aragorn an arch stare that succeeded in shutting him up.

Then came Eomer, leading his own horse. He and Gimli exchanged words about Lady Galadriel and he invited Gimli to ride with him. Eomer then finally noticed Ayelita's presence. "You are a woman!" he said in astonishment after several moments.

"Oh, wonderfully observed," Ayelita remarked dryly. "And in response to what you are about to say: I'm going!" He did not bother to protest.

Gandalf then gave a piercing whistle, calling the name of Shadowfax. A great white horse ran up to stop in front of Gandalf. Ayelita was impressed. As Gandalf cast off his cloak and hat to reveal white robes and long hair to match, Aragorn cried, "Behold the White Rider!" Trumpets sounded as horses neighed and reared, Scythe joining in ardently. The host of Rohan rode thundering into the west. Ayelita felt a great swooping sensation at finally gaining some much longed-for freedom.

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A/N: Ok, what do you think? Pleeese R&R!!! By the way, Ayelita's name is pronounced A-ye(e is short)-lee-ta Ka-rra(r is dribbled)-ban. All As are as in "Father." 


	2. Battles, and other Not so Pretty Things

**Disclaimer:** If you think I created all this, you need to take an urgent, one-way trip to the loony bin. I used a lot of direct quotes from the book, but Lita is all mine.

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Battles, and other Not-so-Pretty Things

They had been riding for nearly five hours, which resulted in giving Ayelita a very sore backside. The excitement had worn off and she now sat in a prominent slump. As Ayelita stared blankly ahead, Legolas rode up to her. "You do not appear to be as enthusiastic as you did when we departed."

"Hmm, my ass is sore," remarked Ayelita dully. As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished that they had not. "Ehhh…."

Legolas sniggered. "I see that you are tired of riding. We should be stopping for the night soon."

As if on cue, moments later someone up ahead called a halt to make camp. Everyone gratefully obliged gathering and dismounting in a wide circle. As soon as she dismounted, Ayelita stretched and bent this way and that to work out some of the painful kinks in her back and lower body. A ring of very unfortunate mounted guards was set around them.

Most were weary and settled down to sleep the minute they set their feet on the ground. Ayelita was somewhat tired herself, but when she sat, she knew that she would not be able to sleep. Some would say that she had insomnia, but she knew that to not be the case. It was just how Ayelita was. If not worn-out, she slept very little, perhaps only a few hours a night. Most of the time simply resting with her eyes closed, but not sleeping, was enough for her. Right now she did not feel like resting at all.

As Ayelita looked around, she saw that Legolas was awake and did not appear to be going to sleep anytime soon, either. She crossed the several feet that separated them and sat down, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands. "Can you not sleep, Ayelita?" Legolas asked.

"No, and call me Lita," she responded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Legolas's eyes went to her ear; at the top it came to an unusual slight point.

"Alright, Lita. If you do not mind, I could not help but notice that you are…different from the rest of your people," Legolas said cautiously.

Lita nodded, knowing that he meant to ask 'why.' "That's because I'm not of the Rohirrim. I came to Edoras seven years ago, when I was thirteen, from a village near Linhir."

"You are of Gondor then?"

"Well… no. Not fully." The look on Legolas's face told her to explain further. "On my mother's side, my grandmother was from Minas Tirith while my grandfather was an Elf from I-have-no-idea-where." Lita pointed to her ears with a slightly conspiratorial look, "That explains the ears."

Confusion now showed in Legolas's eyes. "But, mortal/elf unions are so rare, surely someone would have heard of it?"

Ayelita pursed her lips, "No, and that's because it didn't last."

"Ah."

"Anyway, the family on my father's side was entirely Haradrim."

"Haradrim?!" Legolas was surprised. "But are they not… _savages_?" Lita gave him a paint-pealing glare that was a sharp contrast to her normally light-hearted disposition.

"Sorry," apologized Legolas, seeing that he had offended her.

"Most people encounter a few corsairs and judge the entire people of Harad by them. They don't bother to find out who we really are," Lita told him quietly. She added with a twitch of a grin, "but many Haradrim _can_ be fierce when they want to be."

Legolas made a mental note to himself to not judge people without ever having interacted with them first.

"You know, you are the first full elf that I've ever met," Lita said, changing the subject.

"Am I?"

"Yes. The only Elvin person I have ever met was my mother, who was only a half elf. I can hardly even speak Elvish."

"Would you like me to teach you then?" offered Legolas. He crossed his legs to make himself more comfortable.

"Alright!" Lita would love learning more Elvish. She yawned widely. "Do you want to start tomorrow? I am finally starting to get tired now."

The next morning, the party took off within an hour of dawn. The air was unusually hot and heavy for that time of year. Ayelita felt wary of the darkness in the East and the darkness away to the north-west. She did not need to be powerful or wise to know that it was unnatural.

The day was already in the afternoon when a horseman came riding back towards them, causing them to halt. Lita edged her horse forward, curious. The horseman, gasping, clambered from his horse. Upon finally gaining his breath, he asked, "Is Eomer here? You come at last, but too late, and with too little strength. Things have gone evilly since Theodred fell." He went on to tell of the great forces of hillmen well as monsters that Saruman had loosed on them and how the survivors, lead by Erkenbrand, had to draw back to Helm's Deep. There was no hope, he said, and the host should return to Edoras before it was attacked also.

Lita's stomach plummeted deep into the earth to be replaced with cold dread upon hearing this. She was not stupid; she had not expected to chop up some orcs and gain immediate glory. But only now did the true peril of their situation sink in. Earlier, Lita had not anticipated numerous men dying; the loss of hope; having to give up and turn back so as to protect what was still left.

Théoden rode forth and said, "Come, stand before me, Ceorl! I am here. The last host of the Eorlingas has ridden forth. It will not return without battle." Lita did not know whether to take heart at this determination or to dread even more this battle, in which the odds seemed to be stacked precariously against them. Perhaps it was both. The king then cried, "Let us ride to the help of Erkenbrand!" Either way, there was no turning back now.

Gandalf then rode slightly ahead and told Théoden to ride on quickly to Helm's Deep. He had a swift errand to run. With a word from Gandalf, Shadowfax dashed away like an arrow into the sunset. Scythe snorted and fidgeted for an entire minute, eager to follow, before Lita could calm him down. "Redundant horse," she muttered with a tsk.

The host turned back from the Fords of Isen and headed southward, to Helm's Deep. They rode into the night. Aragorn, Legolas, and Eomer, beside whom Lita had been riding, moved up into the van. She followed them. Receiving no objection, she assumed that they did not mind. On and on they rode, encountering few enemies except for the occasional roaming Orcs, who fled upon sight of them. Behind them, more and more of the enemy could be heard. A large host was following them.

"Would that day was here and we might ride down upon them like a storm out of the mountains!" Aragorn exclaimed. "It grieves me to fly before them." Lita wondered whether he was brave or stupid, but knew better than to ask. She had no urge to run heedlessly into an entire army of Saruman's evil followers. The mere thought of it froze Lita's limbs with fear. This too worried her. Lita had thought herself brave and, if memory served her at all, she _was_ brave. Then what happened? Was she not so courageous after all? Would she, when the time for battle came, freeze up in terror, unable to fight properly?

The host rode into Helm's Deep to be met with Gamling, the old leader of those that watched the Dike. They were informed that at Helm's Deep there were about a thousand men fit for fighting, but none of them were the best warriors of Westfold. Gamling was concerned that Erkenbrand may be dead. Théoden reassured him and then said, "But we cannot await him here. We must draw all our forces now behind the walls. Are you well stored? We bring little provision, for we rode forth to open battle, not to a siege."

"Behind us in the cave of the Deep are three parts of the folk of Westfold, old and young, children and women," Gamling replied. "But a great store of food, and many beasts and their fodder, have also been gathered here." As he said the 'children and women' part, Gamling shot questioning look in Lita's direction, no doubt wondering what a, as far as he could tell, woman was doing among the battle-ready men. Lita was by now beginning to wonder the same thing.

They set at the ready, with the king and his household in the Hornburg and Eomer with his men on the Deeping Wall. Lita went with Eomer's company, having already gone the journey with them. With her were Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn.

Lita and Gimli leaned on the parapet while Legolas sat on top of it. The parapet was so high that Lita could hardly see over it and the top of Gimli's head did not even reach the edge. "This id more to my liking," Gimli said as he stomped around. "There is good rock here. Give me a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place that armies would break upon like water."

"I do not doubt it," Legolas said. "But you are a dwarf, and dwarves are strange folk"- Lita made a noise of amused agreement- "I do not like this place, but you comfort me Gimli, and I am glad to have you standing nigh with your stout legs and your hard axe. But even more would I give for a hundred good archers of Mirkwood."

"It is dark for archery," Gimli told him. "Indeed it is time for sleep. Yet my axe is restless in my hand."

"I don't understand you," Lita said. "How can you be eager for battle? I admit to being scared out of my wits."

"Do you not- Oh no," Legolas broke off his question with a look of despondent realization. "You have never been in a fight or battle, have you?"

"No, I have not."

Legolas looked as if he were about to say something, but didn't. Instead they spent the next half hour silent, Lita fidgeting in anxiety the whole time. Suddenly, they heard yells, screams, and the fierce battle-cry of men coming from the Dike. Men galloped back to the Hornburg. "The enemy is at hand!" they bellowed. Lighting abruptly flashed, lighting up the Dike: it was crawling with dark shapes, some short and squat, some tall and grim. Hundreds upon hundreds poured into the Dike as the cold rain lashed down on everyone. In that moment, a new emotion seized Lita's heart. It was as sever as the freezing fear, so it took her a second to figure out what it was: a flaming ferocity.

Arrows rained over the battlements. Despite the assault, there was no answering challenge from their end. The attacker paused, confused. But in a beat trumpets rang out and the enemies rushed forward. Finally an answer came in the form of a gale of arrows. Lita's adrenaline burned unsatisfied; she had no bow.

The enemy mustered and charged again, with shields above them as a roof. They bore two large tree trunks, and rammed them into the gates with a resounding boom. "Come!" Aragorn, who'd been standing near them, called to Eomer. "This is the hour when we draw swords together!"

They raced like the wind along the wall to the outer court upon the Rock, gathering swordsmen as they ran. Seeing the chance for some action, Lita sprinted after them, followed closely by Gimli.

They reached the end of the stairs and sprang through the door at the rammers. The rammers dropped the trees and fought back. One of the wild men came at Lita, sword raised to strike. In a flash, she blocked his blow with her right knife as she stabbed him with her left. A next attacker replaced him; who Lita kicked down over the edge of the Rock. The remaining wild men and orc-archers soon got the idea and fled.

As Lita approached the gates to stand beside Aragorn, she saw that their hinges and iron bars were bent and that much of the wood was cracked. Several more blows and the gates would have been broken.

"Look!" Eomer said, pointing to the causeway. Many orcs and men were already gathering there. "Come! We must get back and see what we can do to pile stone and beam across the gates within. Come now!"

They ran back. As they ran, twenty-something orcs leaped to their feet from where they had lain among the dead. Two of them crept up behind Eomer and were quickly on top of them. Seeing this, Lita whirled around and, before the orcs even knew what was happening, simultaneously slashed both of their throats. The rest of the orcs fled. Eomer heaved himself up just as Aragorn and Gimli ran back to help.

When they were all back safely inside, Eomer turned to her and said in a heartfelt way, "Thank you, uhh-"

"Ayelita"

"Ayelita! I did not even know that you were with us," he said slowly as he looked at her in what could best be described a confusion. "I shall not find it easy to repay you."

"Then do not give yourself a headache trying to think of a way now."

With this, she and Gimli returned back to their places on the wall. "Two!" proclaimed Gimli, boasting of a pair of orcs that he had slain while they were driving back the rammers.

"Two?" Legolas asked. "I have done better, though I must now grope for spent arrows; all mine are gone. Yet I make my tale at twenty at the least."

Lita did not know how they were so light hearted about war, but couldn't help but add, "Four."

During the next several hours, the battle grew worse. The enemy seemed to grow while the attack on the gates was redoubled. Grappling hooks and ladders were put up against the wall. Men kept throwing them down, only for them to be replaced with more. Lita had several close calls. Once, as she shoved down a ladder, one of the orcs on it managed to catch her on the side of the head as he flailed his arms. The blow threw her back, almost knocking her out. She would have been driven through by an orc that had managed to get over the parapet had Legolas not slain it first.

As Lita struggled back to her feet, she heard Gimli shout above all the noise, "Ai-oi! The orcs are behind the wall. Ai-oi! Come, Legolas! There are enough for us both. Khazad ai-menu!"

_Oh on_, Lita thought vaguely as she rushed after them, trying to re-gather her wits. She paused for a moment as the men behind her rushed at the terrified orcs. Her head working properly, Lita joined in at once. The orcs were quickly driven back, every last one being slaughtered. Having lost sight of anyone she knew, Lita looked around for them and spotted Gimli over by the culvert, commending a troop of Westfold-men.

He was instructing them in closing it up. This not being her type of work, Lita ran back up to the wall.

There the assault continued, though not quite as fiercely. Seeing a man fighting three orcs at once, Lita came up behind, driving her knives through two of them. The fight continued on this way for another half hour, during which Lita finally began to grow quite weary. At a lull in the assault, Lita staggered over to Legolas, who leaned on the parapet beside Aragorn and Eomer, whetting his long elvish knife.

"No fair," she said with a grin, "your knife is prettier than mine are." The corners of his mouth twitched in response. Lita propped herself against the wall, her exhausted legs barely supporting her weight.

Gimli and Gamling then showed up. "Twenty-one!" Gimli proclaimed.

"Good!" Legolas said. "But my count is now two dozen. It has been knife work up here." Lita had no idea how many she'd slain, having been to busy trying to stay alive to count.

As the group conversed, there sounded a loud blare of trumpets followed by a great explosion. "What the fu-," Lita started to mutter, wide eyed in confusion. She looked around to see a gaping hole in the wall where the Deeping stream was. Through it, a swarm of dark shapes poured in.

"Devilry of Saruman!" Aragorn yelled. "They have lit the fire of Orthanc beneath out feet." He lunged into the breach.

But as he did so, over a hundred ladders were raised to the wall. The last assault swept in like a wave. Lita, gathering her last energy, turned to fight, but could just barely prevent herself from being butchered. She and the rest of the defense were driven back further and further into the Deep, many backing into the caves. Some managed to fight their way to the citadel. Lita was one of those, and only because she was directly following Legolas and Aragorn. A broad stair climbed from the Deep to the Rock and the back gate of the Hornburg.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stair, Aragorn turned to defend it so that all that reached it could go up to the gate. Lita, though being beyond exhausted, stopped and raised her knives to aid Aragorn in his task. As soon as she did so, Lita felt a mighty tug on her left arm roughly dragging her backwards up the stairs. She immediately tried to pull away, but her exhaustion left her too weak to do so.

"Let me go," Lita protested vehemently. She turned, still stumbling up the stairs, to see who it was that dragged her. To her surprise, Lita saw that it was Legolas. He did not let go until they reached the top.

"What did you think you were doing?" he demanded. "You are too weary to walk, much less fight. Get in there." He gave Lita a nudge in the direction of the gate, then knelt on a step, aiming his bow at the first Orc that would dare to approach.

Seeing no other option, Lita obeyed. As Lita propped her back against the wall, her legs decided to give out. She slowly slid down to the floor, becoming aware of just how exhausted she truly was.

After several moments, the two came through the door, Aragorn hurriedly shutting it behind him. Upon seeing Legolas, Lita suddenly felt a wave of gratitude and affection sweep through her.

"Things go ill, my friends," Aragorn panted. Lita couldn't bring herself to care, just being glad to be alive (no thanks to her).

"Ill enough," Legolas said, "but not yet hopeless, while we have you with us. Where is Gimli?" It was only as he said this did Lita realize that she had not seen anything of Gimli since the beginning of the assault.

"I do not know," replied Aragorn. "I last saw him fighting on the ground behind the wall, but the enemy swept us apart."

"Alas! That is evil news," Legolas said. Ayelita agreed.

"Let us hope that he will escape back to the caves."

"That must be my hope, but I wish that he had come this way. I desired to tell Master Gimli that my tale is now thirty nine."

"You're still keeping count?" Lita asked incredulously.

"Certainly," said Legolas, as if it were the most normal and sensible thing to do.

Aragon then left without explanation. Lita was too exhausted to bother asking where or why; she just sat there, resting and thinking. Random thoughts drifted through her mind. _So this is war. Not as bad as I had feared. _But at the same time, it was as bad, and worse. It was just that the adrenaline rush temporarily subdued her fear, and the constant fighting did not give her any spare time to think of the near hopelessness of their situation. _I wonder what became of Gimli…?_

After some time, Aragorn returned, saying that he was going back to the wall. Legolas immediately went with him. Lita sighed_. I should probably go back out there instead of sitting here on my ass, _she thoughtSlowly she hauled herself to her feet, not eager to continue on with the battle. Lita stood a moment and gathered her concentration and energy then went out to re-join the fighting. The next hour and a half went much as the previous ones had, with Orcs reaching that top of the wall over and over again to be thrown back down over and over again. This was getting tedious.

Finally, Aragorn went and stood above the gates, addressing the enemy. He was met with jeers; they demand that he come down, and bring the king with him. Aragorn refused, and said, "I looked out to see the dawn." He then continued to do his best to scare off the enemies. A great power and royalty could then be seen in Aragorn, and it caused the wild men to worry of what he said, looking over their shoulders and up at the lightening sky. _Great job, Aragorn_, Ayelita thought, greatly impressed.

The Orcs, however, merely laughed. There was a blast of fire, and the archway above the gate where Aragorn had been standing blew up. He jumped out of the way just in time and ran off. The Orcs yells in triumph. _You had better have something good_, thought Lita, mentally addressing Aragorn. Even as she finished thinking this, a mummer and stirring of alarm went through the enemy. Suddenly, the sound of the horn of Helm rang out loudly for the tower above. Many Orcs fell to the ground cowering and covering their ears with their clawed hands.

Lita looked back into the Deep in wonder. "Helm! Helm!" the people shouted. "Helm is arisen and comes back to war. Helm for Théoden king!" And the king came, riding his white horse. With him rode Aragorn, and behind him rode the lords of the House of Eorl. Out of what used to be the gates they charged.

More men from the caves ran forth. Eager to join this time, Lita galloped down the stairs. With her poured out all the rest of the men in the Deep. None of the enemy survived them. Because of this, Ayelita did not much bother with fighting, but instead focused on reaching the front to see what was occurring there, for further on the Orcs cried and wailed, as if they met something that they feared.

Finally, after much running, Lita reached the front of the company. She stopped. She stood. She gapped. Fore, where there had been a great open green field, was now a forest. "What on Middle Earth-," Lita said in awe. These were no new trees either, they were tall, tangled, moss covered, and had their roots firmly buried in the ground. _How the hell did those get here without anyone even noticing?_

The host of Saruman did not know where to go. Behind them a huge and mighty company of Rohan, in front of them was the strange forest, which they would not enter for love or money.

Just then, upon the ridge, a white rider appeared. Behind him, horns sounded and a thousand men on foot poured down the hills. Amid them was a tall man bearing a bright red shield. He raised a great black horn to his mouth and blew. The hosts of Isengard were left with no choice. They ran wailing into the trees to never be seen again.

"Ekrenbard! Ekrenbard!" the Rides shouted in joy.

"Behold the White Rider!" Aragorn cried. "Gandalf is come again!"

"Mithrandir, Mithrandir!" Legolas babbled in excitement and delight. "This is wizardry indeed! Come! I would look on this forest, ere the spell changes."

"Wait!" Lita yelled, running after them. "I have no horse!"

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A.N.: Here it is! A bit of a long wait, I know, but at least this chapter's nice and long. What did you think of it? Good? Bad? Ugly? Pleeeeese review telling me what you think! I'll try to post Ch.3 sooner. 


	3. Through the Ent Woods We Go

**Through the Ent Woods We Go **

It was on that bright morning, after a miraculous victory, that Gandalf the White, Théoden King, and several other important men (and Elf), finally met to discuss their great matters, such as Gandalf's unexpected arrival and the trees.

From the Dike had come those that had been driven back into the caves; with those came Gimli, and Eomer, and Gamling the Old. Gimli had a bandaged scrape on his head, but otherwise seemed to be fine. Lita sighed and grinned in relief upon seeing this.

"Forty-two, Master Legolas!" Gimli declared. "Alas! My axe is notched. How is it with you?"

"You have passed my score by one," Legolas answered. ""But I do not grudge you your game, so glad am I to see you!"

"I'm glad to see you alive, too, Gimli," Lita said, "because if you had died, I would have killed you for it!"

While the friends finished talking, Gandalf announced that he would be going to Isengard. The king agreed to go with him. Lita was surprised at all of this. Had the old man not had enough fighting?

"Let all who are to ride with me rest now," Gandalf said to them. "We will journey under the shadow of evening. But do not command many men to go with you, Théoden. We go to a parley not a fight." Lita was glad to hear that this would not be a fight after all.

The king sent off messengers to bring the news of victory to everyone in Rohan and to summon all men to come quickly to Edoras, where he would later hold an assembly. After the departure of the messengers, they all went back into the Deep to get some of that much needed rest.

"I must say that it was a pleasure to meet you," Aragorn said to Lita when they had all gone inside.

"I hope that we will cross paths again one day, after all this is over," Gimli added sincerely.

Lita looked back and forth between them. They all obviously thought that she intended to go back to Edoras now that this battle was over. Shaking her head, Lita said to them, "You don't understand, I have no intention of going back."

"You don't?" Aragorn asked, confused. "But where will you go then?"

"I was hoping to come with you all to Isengard, for now."

"But is that not for your king to choose?" Legolas asked.

"That's my _point_, Legolas. When I came here with everyone, I didn't mean to just help fight the battle and go, I meant to leave completely. My stay in Rohan was just that, a long stay, and now it's over."

"I am sorry, but you cannot come with us, Ayelita," Aragorn said from his spot beside Gimli, whose wound he was tending.

"Why not?" she demanded. Lita knew that she sounded childish right now, but it was a perfectly valid question.

"It is already a wonder how you were not killed," said Aragorn. "You just do not have enough experience yet. Besides, this is your home; this is where your life is."

Anger and frustration began to stir inside her. "How do you expect me to _gain_ any experience by just sitting around where it's nice and safe?" Lita snapped. "And let me be the judge of where I belong!"

"She's right, you know." Lita started to hear Legolas speak. He'd been so quiet that she had forgotten that he was even there. Now, she was glad for his unexpected support.

Lita wasn't the only one that had been surprised. Aragorn looked astonished to see that Legolas was taking her side. "I've seen Lita fight;" Legolas told Aragorn, "she can do so very well for someone who has seen so little warfare. She could quickly learn to take care of herself."

"Whether she goes is still up to either Théoden or Gandalf," Aragorn told them.

"Then let us go ask," Lita said, standing up to go do so. Legolas went with her. Recognizing his defeat, Aragorn followed. Gimli huffed, having been left all alone.

It was afternoon when the company that would be going with Gandalf and the King made ready to depart. Ayelita was part of that company, after having had a surprisingly easy time of convincing Gandalf to let her come. He seemed to think that there was nothing wrong or unusual with her going.

"Would you like to ride with us?" a familiar voice behind her offered as she was getting on her horse. Lita turned around to see Legolas sitting on his horse, Arod, with Gimli perched behind him. He rode bareback, which probably made having a second person on the horse easier.

"Sure," Lita replied lightly, coming over to ride beside them near the front of the company.

After a short while, the Riders reached the forest and paused. Both the men and horses were apprehensive of entering the menacing wood. Lita did not know why they were so cautious; she found the forest to be more intriguing than frightening. Gandalf, being of the same mind as her, lead the company forward.

"Come on, Redundant," Lita affectionately muttered to her horse, who was stealthily backing away.

Inside the forest, while the afternoon sun shone above the clear road, the trees on either side were wrapped in dusk and shadows. Among the trees there was a murmur of wordless voices. Beside Lita, Gimli cautiously eyed the wood. She carefully hid her smirk when she saw Gimli clutch onto Legolas a little tighter in fear. Legolas rode closer to Gandalf for the sake of Gimli's nerves. Lita was not so afraid of the woods, though whether due to bravery or stupidity she did not know.

"It is hot in here," Legolas said.

"About time it's warm enough somewhere," said Lita. She'd been born in the summer and had lived her childhood in the south; she loved warmth and heat. To Lita, these mountains had always seemed to be too cold.

After a while, Legolas said, "These are the strangest trees that I ever saw, and I have seen many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age." Lita found this thought to be slightly disconcerting. Despite knowing in her mind that Legolas was many times older than any Man; due to his youthful appearance, it was difficult for Lita to believe him to be any more than a couple of years older than her. Legolas continued, "I wish that there was leisure now to walk among them: they have voices, and in time I might come to understand their thought."

"No, no!" Gimli panicked. "Let us leave them! I guess their thought already: hatred of all that go on two legs; and their speech is of crushing and strangling."

Lita gave a cough that sounded strangely like 'wussy.' Legolas grinned. Gimli, being too concerned about the trees, didn't even notice, and wondered at what they found so funny. This made them both crack up all the more. As they were both smiling, Lita watched Legolas and came to the conclusion that smiling suited him. It was an expression that he too rarely showed, however, so she decided to cheer him up at any time that the opportunity arose.

When Lita put her mind back to the conversation, she heard Gimli describing the caves back at Helm's Deep. Apparently he had been impressed, fore about the caves he talked; and talked; and then talked some more. "Gimli, if you love those caves so much, why don't you just marry them?" Lita finally said.

Gimli blinked. He did not know how to take that suggestion. Legolas stepped in to his rescue by offering, "Let us make this bargain- if we all return safe out of the perils that await us, we will journey for a while together. You shall visit Fangorn forest with me, and then I will come with you to see Helm's Deep."

"I would be glad to go, too," Lita said to them. "How about as well as going to Fangorn and Helm's Deep, we stop by the sea. I've always loved the sea, but have not been able to see it since coming to Rohan."

Legolas looked disappointed at this. "I cannot go to the sea. I have been warned that if I do, I shall forever long for it."

"Damn," Lita said under her breath. She'd wanted to show him how amazing and fun the sea could be.

"How about we stay with the plan, except that I will accompany you to the sea whenever we get the chance, while Legolas may say behind for the time?" Gimli offered.

"Deal," Lita said.

"Deal," Legolas agreed.

After he said this, they came to the end of the wood. As the company passed out of the trees, they saw that they had reached the bottom of the Coomb, where the road branched, one way going east to Edoras and the other going north to the fords of Isen. They turned towards the north road. As they left the trees behind, Legolas looked back and suddenly gave a small scream of surprise.

Ayelita whipped her head around. There, staring out of the trees, was a strange pair of eyes. Legolas started to ride back towards them. "Stay, Legolas Greenleaf!" Gandalf sternly commanded. "Do not go back into the wood, not yet! Now is not your time."

Before he even finished saying this, three tall, weird shapes walked out of the woods. Lita looked like a startled bush baby as she stared, wide-eyed, at the large creatures. The first thing that came to her mind was that they looked rather like walking trees. The creatures raised their long hands to their mouths and made loud, ringing calls; clear and musical, with a woodwind sound to them. The calls were answered and more of the creatures came striding from the north. This frightened many of the riders. Lita just continued to stare in wonder.

"What _are_ those?" she at last demanded.

"These are but herdsmen," Gandalf replied.

"Herdsmen!" Théoden exclaimed, confused. "Where are their flocks? What are they?"

"They are the shepherds of the trees," Gandalf told them. "Is it so long since you listened to tales by the fireside? There are children in your land who, out of the twisted threads of story, could pick the answer-"

"Ents!" Ayelita burst out, suddenly remembering some of those stories.

"Right you are," Gandalf said. "See, Théoden? These are the Ents out of Fangorn Forest, which you call the Entwood. Did you think that the name was given only in idle fancy? Nay, Théoden, it is otherwise: to them you are but the passing tale; all of your people's years here are of little count to them."

The king thought and pondered aloud about Ents and Men. Lita did so too in her head, marveling at how old the Ents must be. They had to be much older than even the Elves. What is it like to have so much memory? This question had always held special meaning and importance for Lita because she herself would have a lifespan many times that of an ordinary Man (if not killed); or she may even turn out to be immortal as the Elves. Being quarter-elven could be so confusing.

"Come now!" Gandalf said briskly, breaking into Lita's trail of thought. "Let us now go on with the journey we have begun!"

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A.N.: This chapter and the next one were initially going to be one, but it got too long and I decided to make them two separate chappies. So, Ch.4 should be up in a week or so. Your own pet Ent for anyone who reviews! 


	4. Surprises: They're Good for the Soul

A.N.: Well, here it is. Sorry it took so long, but this chapter was difficult to write. On the bright side, I think this is the best one so far! So enjoy.

**

* * *

**The pale gray morning light shone faintly through the heavy fog as the company prepared to press on. The past evening they had ridden many hours. In that time they had crossed the Fords, and now it was only five more leagues until they would reach Isengard. 

Having finished cleaning her teeth and gathering her few provisions, Ayelita mounted her horse, Scythe (a.k.a. Redundant). "Why you spend your time on that is beyond me," Gimli gruffly muttered behind her.

"On what?" Lita asked.

"Scrubbing your teeth."

"Eww," said Lita, making a face. "You don't brush your teeth? Remind me to never come within smelling distance of you!" _Honestly, do any of these people have a sense of hygiene? _Lita wondered. _Disgusting._

They rode now on the highway, traveling slowly. Ayelita looked around at their surroundings through the fog. The land was dead looking, with no trees and the ground being covered with scraggly weeds and brambles. Once, she thought she saw a little hedgehog waddling through the growth that it so aptly matched. Everything about this place was depressing, except for the hedgehog.

After a few more miles the highway became paved, and beside the road a pillar with a great, white, stone hand atop it loomed. It pointed north. _I am sensing a theme here_, Lita thought, remembering the mark of the white hand upon the shields of the foes that they had fought.

As the company followed Gandalf past the pillar of the hand, they saw large pools of water in the ditches on either side of the road. There were occasional dips and potholes in the road, and those too, were filled with water.

SPLASH! Redundant had stepped into what had to be the biggest, wettest pothole on the whole road. Lita tsked, leading him out of the puddle. For the rest of the way, no matter how much Lita tried to guide him around them, Redundant continued to step into every single puddle on the road. He was probably getting some sort of enjoyment out of this.

Finally, Gandalf halted; they had arrived at vast gates of Isengard. Or what used to be the gates of Isengard, for the great doors lay twisted and broken on the ground. The arch still stood, but was reduced to a gaping hole. The walls on either side had huge chunks torn out of them. Stone and rubble lay scattered everywhere. Beyond, the stronghold was filled like a pool with dirty, steaming water in which all sorts of jetsam and junk languidly floated.

Lita sat, blinking and gazing in wonder at the complete and total destruction. She wondered in admiration at who could have done all this. Lita looked at the archway and saw two figures lying on top of a large pile of rubble, surrounded by plates, bowls, and bottles. One slept as the other sat back, smoking something. They looked to be young men, about her age, wearing grey cloaks that matched the rocks perfectly, and both had insanely curly hair. The one major difference they had from most other people was that they both seemed to be about only four feet tall. They had to be the two most adorable people Lita had ever seen! She suppressed a squeal of delight.

Suddenly, the little smoking person became aware of their presence and jumped up, bowing to the king. "Welcome, my lords, to Isengard! We are the door wardens. Meriadoc, son of Saradoc is my name; and my companion, who, alas, is overcome with weariness," he said, subtlety kicking his friend, "is Peregrin, son of Paladin, of the house of Took. Lord Saruman is within; but at the moment he is closeted with one Wormtongue, or doubtless he would be here to welcome such honorable guests." The little guy had a fairly high voice, but that was to be expected of someone his size. Already Lita liked him from his chipper speech.

Gandalf laughed, "Doubtless he would! And was it Saruman that set you to guard his doors?"

"No, good sir, the matter escaped him," Meriadoc answered seriously. "Our orders came from Treebeard, who has taken over the management of Isengard."

"And what about your companions? What about Legolas and me?" Gimli burst out. "You rascals, you woolly-footed and wool-pated truants! A fine hunt you have led us! And here we find you feasting and idling- and smoking! Smoking! I am so torn between rage and joy, that if I do not burst, it will be a marvel!"

"You speak for me, Gimli," Legolas said. "Though I would rather learn how they came by the wine."

Lita gaped, staring wide-eyed form her new companions to these little-whatever they were. From the look on her face anyone could have thought that Sauron himself had come over and said that he was really a sweet and kind bunny and that the whole war was just a big misunderstanding. "_You know each other!?!?!!?_" she finally burst out.

All turned to look at her. Several laughed. Had Lita not been so astonished and curious, she would have felt rather sheepish. "Yes, we know them," Legolas replied. "It was our hunt to rescue these two that brought us to Rohan."

Before either of them could say more, King Théoden said, "So these are the lost ones of your company, Gandalf? The days are fated to be filled with marvels. Are these not the Halflings, that some among us call the Holbytlan?"

"Hobbits, if you please, lord," said Peregrin, having woken up.

It was a short while later that Gandalf and the king, along with his company, rode off to find this Treebeard in order to speak with him. Lita was left behind with Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and the hobbits. The four dismounted, leaving their horses to go in search of some grass. Thinking better of it, Lita, using the longest rope she had, tied Redundant to Hasufel so that he would not get lost.

"This is Ayelita Karaban," Aragorn said, introducing her to the hobbits. "We met in Edoras and she was with us at the battle at Helm's Deep."

"Hello," she said brightly, shaking his little hand. "I'd prefer that you call me Lita."

"Likewise, you can call me Pippin and my friend here is Merry," Pippin said in the same manner.

"Now, how about a meal?" said Gimli. "I have a sore head, and it is past mid-day. You truants might make amends by finding us some of that plunder. Food and drink would pay off some of my score against you."

Merry and Pippin were glad to oblige and invited them all over to go have some lunch in a guard-house under the arch. They went up a flight of stairs and into a large, stone room where light poured in from the broken roof. They sat down at the end of a long wooden table while the hobbits went into a store room through a side door, coming out with dishes, cups, knives, forks, and various food items.

Lita took some salted pork, buttered bread, and wine (she was not a big fan of beer), gladly digging in. Merry and Pippin joined them for a second lunch, saying that they must keep their guests company.

"How does someone as small as you eat so much?" Lita asked bemusedly.

"Those are hobbits for you," Legolas laughed. "If we had not arrived, they would already have been keeping one another company again."

"Maybe; and why not?" Pippin demanded. "We had foul fare with the Orcs, and little before that. It seems a long while since we could eat to heart's content."

"I know what you mean," Lita laughed. It had been much the same after her journey from Linhir to Edoras. "Where are you from, anyway? I have never heard of hobbits."

"Our home is in the far North, we call it the Shire," Pippin answered.

"Are there any towns of Men or Elves nearby?" she asked, shoving the rest of her bread into her mouth.

"Bree is some leagues to the East of us, and the Grey Havens are a bit further to the West."

Lita nodded, knowing the general area from maps she had seen. "Are all of your people so short?"

"Many are even shorter," Pippin replied.

"Indeed, I would swear that you both have grown somewhat, if that is possible for hobbits of your age," Gimli said, looking them up and down. "This Treebeard has not been starving you."

"No, he has not," Merry said. "But Ents only drink, and drink is not enough."

"You have drunk the waters of the Ents, have you?" Legolas asked. "Ah, then it is likely that Gimli's eye do not deceive him. Strange songs have been sung of the draughts of Fangorn."

"Speaking of strange," Pippin continued, addressing Lita. "I wish to hear about you as well. How did a lady come to be riding with this lot?"

"I'll start off by saying that the word 'strange' does fit me in every possible way. I simply demanded to go to the battle that just happened back at Helm's Deep, and refused to go back after it was over. Just several days ago I worked as a maid at Edoras."

Merry and Pippin gave her a funny look, evidently noticing that she did not exactly fit in with the Rohirrim. "I'm originally from Linhir," she explained. "My background is a mix of Haradrim, Elf, and Gondorian. I came up to Edoras after my mother died and I had no family left." As she said this, Lita could tell that Legolas was thinking something from the look in his eyes, but she could not guess what. Lita had not told him that the reason she left her old home was because she had been orphaned.

"If you have finished eating," said Merry suddenly, "you shall fill your pipes and light up." He pulled out a small leather pouch. This caught the attention of Aragorn and Gimli. "We did some salvage-work this morning, Pippin and I. We found two small barrels; when we opened them, we found they were filled with this: as fine a pipe-weed as you could wish for."

Gimli took some, rubbing it between his fingers and sniffing. "It feels good, and it smells good."

"What is it?" Lita inquired, stretching out her hand for some. She rubbed and smelled as Gimli had done. Lita wrinkled her nose in revulsion. It smelled awful; bitter and somehow dirty. "You smoke this?!" she asked in disgust.

"Why of course; it is good!" Merry exclaimed indignantly. Pippin gave Gimli a pipe, since he did not have one.

"Well, I am going back into the open air, to see what the wind and sky are doing!" said Legolas, showing no interest in smoking. They all went with him, finding places to sit on the previously vacated pile of rocks. Lita sat with her back against the wall while Aragorn and Legolas both stretched out.

They relaxed for several minutes in relative silence, Legolas laying flat on his back with his hands behind his head as he stared up at the sky, singing softly to himself. Lita nudged him with her leg. "I now see that you don't need pipe-weed, you are already strange enough as it is," she playfully teased. This got huffs of laughter out of the companions.

"You think you are funny, do you?" Legolas mock-indignantly asked.

"Aye, as a matter of fact I am."

"Then tell us something amusing," Pippin demanded.

Lita thought a moment of some of the best jokes she knew, finally deciding on one. Smiling mischievously, she began, "There was a little lad who lived with his parents. One day, he walks in on them arguing, and hears the words 'bitch' and 'bastard.' When he asks what those words mean, his parents tell him that they are kind words for 'lady' and 'lord'.

"Later, the boy comes upon his father shaving and hears him say 'shit!' when he cuts himself. 'What does shit mean?' the boy asks. 'Why, it is a type of soap that is especially good for shaving,' his father replies." Merry and Pippin were already begging to crack up in anticipation for the rest.

Lita continued, "On another day, the child comes into the kitchen as his mother is cooking a turkey. 'Fuck!' he hears her exclaim when she burns her hand on the pan. When he asks what the word means, she tells him, 'why, it is a way of preparing a turkey.'

"Finally, the guests arrive to their home for supper. 'Welcome, bitches and bastards,' the boy greets them. 'My parents cannot receive you right now because my father is away rubbing shit on his face and my mother is busy fucking the turkey."

Merry, Pippin, and Gimli immediately burst into peals of laughter. Aragorn began with a hesitant chuckle that grew to match the others' hilarity. Legolas had a bizarre expression on his face, as if he did know whether to be outraged at such crude humor or to join the others in their mirth. The second option eventually won out as he, too, doubled over in laughter. Lita released a breath that she had not realized she had been holding, glad that they all found her to be more humorous than outrageous.

"That… was… amazing!" Merry managed to choke out. Lita grinned all the more proudly. They all took some time to recover.

"What of the tale?" Aragorn asked, remembering the hobbits' promise to tell them of their adventures.

"Well, my tale begins with waking up in the dark and finding myself all strung-up in an orc camp," Pippin began. For nearly an hour, he, with the help of Merry, told of how they had been captured by orcs, managed to escape, met Treebeard, and how the Ents demolished Isengard. Lita listened attentively the entire time, fascinated. The hobbits had a greater sense of heroics and adventure than she had expected.

Finally, they more or less finished with their tale. Gimli re-filled and re-lit his stinking pipe. Lita became aware of the gradual cramping of almost her entire body. Clambering to her feet, she stretched up, bent back, and touched her toes (though not simultaneously). As she did this, Lita thought she felt someone's gaze on her, though when she looked around, she did not see anyone looking at her.

"There is one more thing I wonder about," Legolas said, shifting his position. "You told Théoden Wormtongue was with Saruman. How did he get there?"

Pippin described Wormtongue's arrival that morning. Half an hour later, the discussion was over and Merry said, "I wonder what Gandalf is doing. The afternoon is getting on. Let us go look around! You can enter Isengard now, but it is not a very cheerful sight." Taking Merry's suggestion, they went through the damaged tunnel, entering the ring of Isengard.

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A.N.2: OK, anyone who reviews gets to go hang out with adorable hobbits! And, if you write a nice and detailed review, and adorable Legolas, too! 


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